Slow-witted Matchstick nearly got hit, if it weren't for Suzy's force field.

"Sue, look out!" he yelled. The big old robot was about to clobber her, so I took action, fast. I could push her away just in time. Robot's laser got me, though, & sent me slidin' backward. "That all you got?" I told the machine.

"Uh…Ben?" asked Stretch. He was warnin' me. More lasers were on their way when I turned around. I admit it; I was a slowpoke this time round. Some red light made me blind for a sec & I smashed into crates & tins. I was dizzy for a bit & when my eyes opened up again, Dr. O roared & jumped over me to strike that lean mean machine.

"Are we really going to fight? I mean, they're the good guys! Won't we get in trouble?" muttered Flame Brain, being a goodie-goodie for once.

"Already in trouble!" said Suzy. None of us had taken down anyone yet. Blue Blaze half-melted some of their guns but that was it.

"Everyone stand down!" Stretch ordered us.

"Giving up ain't really my style," I couldn't help sayin'.

"I won't let you become outlaws. Give the police your full cooperation," he said.

Suzy had a question, " 'Our' cooperation? What about you?"

"Oh, I'm not surrendering. I'm going to clear our names," my best friend told us all. Using his rubbery powers he bounced outta the building, Suzy put a field around him till he stretched away safely.

Flame Brain was wailing away, "Oh sure…REED gets to escape. How's THAT fair?" No matter what he said, we had ourselves no choice.

What came next surprised us loads. Dr. O & Blue Blaze weren't cuffed like me, Suzy & Johnny were. "HEY! What about you both?!" Matchstick wailed some more, this time at the officers.

Dr. O did the talking, "Johnny, you have to understand. The Mayor gave Azula & I another chance."

"But – but….," Matchstick mumbled. We couldn't do a thing. The police packed us into a bunch of vans & drove us off. It was ages before they opened them doors again. Yeah, just like I expected. The prison at the edge of town, right in front of us.

The mood was glum so I made it upbeat. "You're joking, right? Do you WANT us to escape? This place isn't gonna hold us," I teased the officers.

Flame Brain joined in, "Yeah, you have to put us in the Raft, or the Big House. One of those super powered prisons. I hear the Vault has power nullifying ankle bracelets! Ow. Fine. Just a suggestion." Puhhh, he was talkin' too much.

The noise didn't stop till we got inside. "Rock man walking!" yelled Flame Brain. I told him to zip it, or else. Luckily our cell was big enough. Plus it had a TV.

"Welcome to my kingdom, heroes…..," someone creepy said on the TV.

"Dude, Reed called it. It's Alicia's crazy dad. We're totally going to find you & stop you!" said Flame Brain.

'Licia's dad kept goin', "By now you've deduced that it was I who turned the city against you. It was I who had you thrown out of your home & hunted like common criminals!"

I saw a puppet shaped like my girlfriend on the shelf & said, " 'Licia..he possessed his own daughter…" Couldn't believe my eyes. I looked around & saw puppets of Dr. O & Blue Blaze too. No wonder they weren't crammin' in here with us. I was guessin' the Puppet Master found 'em real useful. & that was a bad thing.

"But as much as I've enjoyed watching your humiliation, it was merely a diversion. You see, for weeks now, I've been whispering into the ear of my most important pawn. The greatest mind on the planet…," Puppet Master went on.

"Wait..it's not ME, is it?" asked Matchstick. If things weren't so serious I'd be laughin' away.

Suzy had a light bulb turn on in her head, "No…Reed." There was a puppet of him on the shelf, all right.

I felt some super urgent feeling, & smashed the door open. We were gonna run out the fastest we could. "By the time you find me it will be far too late. Oh…& do not try to hurt anyone on your way out; they're not acting of their own free will," said 'Licia's dad.

Lots of prison guards cornered us. Their eyes looked purple & dead in some way. One of 'em reached out to grab Matchstick, who backed off. "Whoa…hey, careful guys! Fire burns. No touching! Hey, a little help here!" he said. Three guards were wrestlin' with him now.

One guard tried usin' a taser on me. It tickled but put me off. "OW!!! That hurt…sort of. Any ideas how to do this without smushing anybody?" I asked.

"Very gently," was Suzy's suggestion. She put all three of us into her field while the guards were punchin' it from outside. The shield was slidin' along the floor & Johnny had a bad comment for his sis to hear, "It's like a low speed chase! Wow sis, just when I thought you couldn't get any lamer."

Well, he was talkin' too soon. Suzy made the shield float up & wreck the ceiling. That was our way out. I heard Flame Brain say, "Never mind." He learnt his lesson. I was kinda busy thinkin' about Dr. O & my cooking pal being dangerous.

We were flyin' to the heart of the city. We landed on a bright street with people that didn't move. "That's weird. The city is quiet," said Suzy. No kiddin'.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Matchstick asked a man on the pavement. In a sec, everyone started speakin' the same words at the same time. They all said creepy stuff, "Oh, someone is home, punk….The Puppet Master. I am everywhere! I am everyone! Finally I will get the respect I deserve. You've already lost, Fantastic Fools! Let me show you…"

An old man hurled a hot dog at Matchstick & a kid threw some other food at him too. You really couldn't get anyone controlled by the Puppet Master to love his neighbours…Somethin' light & fluffy hit my back. A short lady was hittin' me with her broom. Tomatoes hit me many times too. I turned & said out loud, "An old woman? People throwing fruit? Is this the best you can do, Puppet Master?"

My good friend with the broom answered, "Not even close." Yikes. Next thing I know, a couple of trucks slammed me so hard I flew across the street. Not that it hurt, but I had to tell 'em, "Well, that's a little better –" Truck #2 crashed into me again. This wasn't gonna be pretty.

Wanna know what else? When I picked myself up after the truck crash, I heard a really loud kitty sound. & it could only mean one thing. Leopard X was standin' in front of the mind-controlled crowd, Blue Blaze appearin' after him. & nope, they weren't smilin'.

Dr. O's robot eyes were real bright & angry. His mouth was openin' wide to let out his laser beam anytime.